Chaos Theory
by Aa-chan
Summary: One year after their adventure in the Digiworld, the kids embark on a new adventure. *Please* R&R people, I'm new here so some suggestions would be nice. ^_^
1. Default Chapter Title

Chaos Theory

By Aa-chan

# Chapter One

"Oh, and then the time Mimi got us onto that boat with her—snort—feminine charms!"

Sora smiled as Mimi daintily wacked Tai over the head. 'Just like old times,' she thought with a sigh, shifting in her chair. She glanced around Tai's room, not really seeing anything, trying not to pay attention to the conversation. It surprised even her, but it hurt to think of their summer in the Digiworld.

_'Biyomon was—is—my best friend, and I'll probably never see her again.'_ It had been a full year since they had arrived back at home, a full year since they had said goodbye, a full year since the little specks that were their Digimon disappeared into the distance as the trolley car sped away from the other world where they had learned so much about themselves… Sora sighed again.

She let her gaze drift across her companions. It was odd seeing all of them together like this again. Oh sure, they had remained friends in the past 12 months, but distant ones, for the most part. After being together for so long, they really needed time apart, and they had all settled back into their regular routines they had had before being transported from their summer camp. The group together now gave her surprising pains of nostalgia.

Joe sighed loudly, startling Sora out of her thoughts. "This is all very well, but are we going to discuss what we came here to discuss?"

Tai paused in the middle of an exuberant retelling of one of their many adventures. "You're right, Joe. Okay, so we've all been thinking about the Digiworld more often than usual, right?"

Izzy nodded. "Yes. It may not seem like much, but these feelings of nostalgia have suddenly hit us like—like—"

"Like a truck," Matt supplied.

Mimi nodded wistfully, her eyes growing slightly misty. "I've just been missing Palmon more and more lately."

"Now, it may be we are just longing for those days," Izzy continued, "but it does seem odd that these feelings have hit us all full-force at the exact same time. It could mean something. And some of have had dreams, right?"

"Right." Sora remembered the dream… it was full of feelings of happiness and warmth, and first and foremost was Biyomon's smiling face, saying, "I'll never leave you, Sora…" She lowered her eyes and tried to think of something else.

"I'm coming, Gatomon." The others glanced at Kari, who was leaning on her brother's windowsill, staring up at the night sky. She looked at the others and smiled placidly. "I know it's not a sure thing, but I just…know."

The group fell into silence for a moment.

"Tai," TK suddenly spoke up shyly from his place on the bed next to Matt, "Would you finish that story?"

As Tai burst into chatter again, Sora smiled. The official reason they'd come was to discuss the possibility that the feelings meant something, but she had a sneaking suspicion that they all just wanted to see one another again and reminisce.

"Whoa! You-you guys!"

Sora turned to Izzy, whose fingers were poised above the keyboard. He was staring at the screen in shock. "What is it?"

"I just—" His voice caught in his throat and he swallowed. "I have just received an e-mail from Gennai."

They gaped at him for a moment. "Well, don't just sit there, what does it say?" Tai asked excitedly.

The redhead cleared his throat and began to read. "' Well, hello there, kids, I'll bet you didn't expect to hear from me again. Anyways, I was just going about my regular morning routine and eating my breakfast when I felt something. I'm not sure what, almost an air of anticipation, as if something is about to happen. The Digimon feel too, though I can't imagine what it could be. The Digiworld is now a very peaceful place and there are no threats here that I know of. Well, I thought I should let you know, because you may be involved. Gotta go finish my toast now,'" Izzy finished. He glanced up at the rest of them. "What could it be?"

Sora frowned. Whatever it was, she would do anything to help Biyomon, and she had to admit it would be wonderful to see her again.

"I'll do anything for Agumon!" Tai proclaimed loudly. Sora smiled at the echo of her thoughts.

Izzy shut his laptop and looked at the others. "Well, at any rate, I think we should prepare…"

He trailed off, staring at something over Sora's shoulder. She furrowed her brow and turned to look.

An archway stood behind her chair, an archway of bright, burnished platinum light. It shimmered and wavered, an iridescent golden visage.

"Am I the only one who didn't notice that before?" Sora shot a wry look at Joe.

"I think we've just found our way to the Digiworld, guys," Matt said softly.

Tai grinned and without another word, jumped off his desk and walked through. Sora made a choking noise. He didn't come out the other side.

"Is… is it okay?" TK asked worriedly.

Matt poked a finger through it. "I think so, Squirt. Only one way to find out." He rose and walked hesitantly through. Feeling slightly sheepish, the others followed in succession.

Sora stared at Mimi's disappearing back and swallowed, then entered. Golden obscurity surrounded her as far as the eye could see. She floated in the light, a feeling of warmth and comfort washing over her. She felt completely at peace with anything and everything. For that one brief moment, all thoughts of trouble in the Digiworld and Biyomon left her. Then it was abruptly over, like a pricked bubble.

Sora blinked and tried to focus, but she could see only blurry shapes. She was standing in a large room, with what felt like hardwood floors, and had blue walls, surrounded by people. Not just her little group of friends, either. She squinted, wondering what was wrong with her vision, and the world suddenly came flooding into focus.

Sora was staring at an exact double of herself.

She thought it must be a mirror at first, but then realized the double was not wearing her helmet. She was. The two stood staring at one another. "H…hello," the mirror finally stammered, her eyes as wide as dinner plates. "It's, um, nice to meet you."

"Uh, hello," Sora answered politely. "Who--?"

"Sora!"

She spun around, her thoughts racing. _'That voice. That voice can only belong to one person. Or rather, one Digimon. It's—'_ "Biyomon!" The shimmering golden arch stood in this room, too, and those familiar Digimon friends of theirs had just come stumbling through. Forgetting her copy, Sora crouched down and swept Biyomon into a hug.

"I missed you so much, Sora," the pink bird whispered.

Sora was too overcome to reply. She just nodded, holding her tighter.

"Ahem."

The two pulled apart to look around. Gennai was staring at them. Sora blinked then gazed at the room they were in. She recognized it; it was a room in Gennai's own house. With a start, she realized that there were two… of everyone, really. Even the Digimon. The only ones that didn't were Gennai and… Kari? And Gatomon, for that matter. The girl was holding her Digimon, looking around in complete and utter bewilderment.

The two Joes stared at one another, both holding their Gomamon partners. One of the Gomamons was poking the other curiously with a claw. She couldn't tell which was which.

"_Ahem_."

With a start, Sora turned to Gennai, who looked as though he was losing a great deal of his patience. "Now…"

"Who _are_ you?" Joe spat out suddenly.

"That will be explained," Gennai began, looking perturbed, "If you would just—"

"Hi!" They all turned to Tai, who was grinning and had his hand stuck out to his double. The mirror didn't seem to share Tai's easy acceptance of the situation, or his cheerfulness. He merely stared at the hand in mild wonder before uncertainly shaking it.

"Hi…umm…Tai…" He chuckled softly.

Sora frowned thoughtfully. Obviously, they weren't exact doubles, in personality at least, or he would have done just the same.

Gennai shot a glare meant to kill at the boys. "_If_ you would _just_ follow me, all will be explained." Izzy and his twin both nodded fervently and turned to follow.

"That was kind of spooky," a Tentomon remarked, hovering after his partner.

Sora's double fell in step beside her as the odd group made their way down a little hallway. The two just stared at one another, not bothering to try and disguise their curiosity. Who _was_ this person? She absently thought of the time Datamon had created a clone of herself. Was this a clone?

They emerged into a room Sora recognized. They had eaten dinner here the time they had stayed at Gennai's house. The low table was covered in an abundance of food. Her stomach gave a tiny growl, reminding her she hadn't yet eaten dinner, as she sat down with the rest. Her copy took a place opposite her, Biyomon settled in her lap, and the rest followed suit. They dug in.

Izzy suddenly spoke up hesitantly. "Gennai… if you knew what was going on, why didn't you explain it to us in your e-mail?"

"I am not Gennai." Sora blinked. Not Gennai…? "Well, I am, but not the Gennai you all know. I am… a sort of alternate version of him."

"Waiff, wuffooyoo—" Joe swallowed a bite of fish—"What do you mean? Where are we, then?"

Gennai, standing at the head of the table, sighed and scratched his chin. "Perhaps it would be best to begin from the beginning before getting into that. Now, I'm sure you're all wondering who these people are, and what exactly is going on." Sora saw Izzy nod his head emphatically out of the corner of her eye.

"I shall begin by explaining the concept of parallel dimensions." Sora raised an eyebrow. Gennai wasn't usually this stiff; he normally made some kind of bad joke and was generally less formal. "There are infinite dimensions, layer upon layer, that exist. One is born when a decision is made. For example, if a girl decided to turn left, a new dimension would be born in which she turned right. Strange parallels that continue to branch out into infinity."

"Yes, I have often thought that it might be so. Just a thought, of course, but it did seem plausible." Izzy was frowning slightly, his chopsticks paused in midair.

Sora shook her head in confusion. She wasn't entirely sure she understood. Were these people from a different dimension? "Do you mean like different worlds? Like the real world and the Digiworld?"

"No."

"Oh." Sora blushed.

"But that's a good question. The Digiworld was created from data in the real world. In many dimensions, both the real world and the Digiworld exist. However, there are many worlds in which only the real world exists, because that information was never created, or perhaps was destroyed, because of the different decisions a person may make.

"Even the tiniest of decisions can sometimes change an entire dimension."

"Oh, like in those books where a person goes back in time, kills a bug, and when he returns to his time everything is completely changed?" Joe asked.

"Precisely, though time has nothing to do with this. You are in a parallel now."

Sora stared. No wonder this Gennai seemed slightly different than the one she was used to. It wasn't the same person.

"Why have you brought us here?" Tai asked.

Gennai glanced at him disapprovingly, but it seemed to Sora there was also a hint of sadness to his face. Somehow, for some reason. "I am getting to that, young man," he scolded. "I am not entirely sure what the situation is in your dimension, but I am sure it is very different than the one here. Kari is dead."

They all paused in whatever they were doing, even with food halfway to their face, except Kari, who choked on the fish she had been eating. Tai slapped her on the back. His double, Sora noticed, looked devastated, but had still not stopped staring at Kari.

"So this is how she would have grown up," he said softly, smiling sadly.

Sora watched him. That must be why he didn't respond to Tai's greeting with the same cheerfulness, she thought. Events in people's pasts can change their entire personality.

"You see," Gennai continued, giving Kari a sharp look. As if it were her fault she choked. "You see, in many parallels, Kari became sick because she was out in the rain one night and missed summer camp. That is what happened in yours, if I don't miss my guess."

Kari blinked. "Only because Miko went outside and I had to go get him back. But…how did that affect my living?"

"Your parallel self did not do that, because the cat did not go outside. She stayed healthy as ever and went to summer camp with the rest of you."

Tai's twin was shaking now. The Sora double laid a hand on his shoulder, concerned. "Tai, are you sure you want to stay to listen to this? Why don't we go and…um…why don't we go?"

  
He nodded and hey walked off into some adjoining room. Sora glanced at her dimension's Tai. He was staring at the doorway the two had exited by. '_What could he be thinking?_' She wondered.

Gennai cleared his throat softly. "Yes, well…she went to the Digital World from the beginning. She, however, did not have Gatomon to protect her." He sounded almost guilty, for some reason. "You see, when I was young…I saved…"

Izzy's eyes widened with comprehension. "Of course. When you saved the eggs from Piedmon, you had dropped Gatomon's accidentally. She was not with the other Digimon."

Gennai nodded, head hanging. "Yes. I…I was careless. That Kuwagumon knocked Kari off the cliff before the rest of you—them. Only she did not land in the water. She landed on the rocks beside." His voice was almost a whisper.

Kari had her hands to her mouth in complete horror. "If Miko hadn't gone out that night, I would be dead now. It—It's awful to think that such small things can make such a difference. I'll never know if what I'm about to do will kill me."

Tai patted her shoulder reassuringly. "It's okay, Kari. You can't let it bother you. There's nothing you can do about it."

"I know."

Sora shuddered. She knew, too, but that didn't stop it from frightening her. Anything, any small choice in her life, even a choice made by someone else, could land her dead. Or worse. She shook her head, not wanting to linger on what would be worse than death.

"At any rate," Gennai continued, having regained some of his composure, "The children were able to defeat Devimon and Etemon, but without Kari, Myotismon was just too powerful for them. He was never destroyed."

"Then…what…?" Joe trailed off, but Gennai understood.

"He rules over both worlds, Digital and real." Sora gasped slightly. "Everyone is enslaved to Myotismon aside from those who manage to keep well hidden from his spies. I, with my house in such an unusual place, am one of those. I allow the Digidestined to stay with me."

Sora thought she understood why. Gennai probably felt it was mainly his fault.

"As the years went on, Myotismon became more powerful and has now digivolved to Venommyotismon, and is able to retain that form. So we—'we' meaning Izzy and I—developed our theory about interdimensional travel. We managed to build a machine that takes us to different ones. We weren't entirely sure what sort of dimension the doorway would open to, but Izzy managed to get it to accept certain specifications we could give."

Joe moaned loudly and everyone turned to stare at him questioningly. "I thought we were safe at home once and for all, and now I'll bet you anything we have to save this other Digiworld. Perfect."

Gomamon hit him over his head with a flipper playfully. "Don't be such a downer, Joe."

"_I'm a downer?" Joe glared at Gennai. "Have you even __heard anything that this guy has been saying?"_

Gennai sighed. "You are just like the Joe I know," he said. "As a matter of fact, you are right. We need you. Only the Digidestined are able to destroy Venommyotismon. I fear we could not use just Kari, for Digidestined have to be with their own dimensions' versions of one another. It just doesn't fit together properly otherwise. Plus," he added, staring at the doorway, "I don't believe Tai would be able to handle it."

Sora felt a sudden pang of sympathy for this dimension's Tai. The Tai she knew would have been completely and utterly devastated if his dear sister died. 

Joe had his arms crossed and was glowering. "And what do you expect us to do about the real world? I think my parents would start to worry if I didn't show up for who-knows-how-long."

"The others will take your places, and Mimi will say Kari is staying over at her house for however long it takes. Not too long, I hope."

The blue-haired boy snorted. "_That's your plan? What if Mrs. Kamiya calls Mimi's mother to see how she's doing?"_

Gennai shrugged. "It will be handled. It's not the best of plans, I know, but there's no help for it."

"I still say we should have a choice in the matter!" Joe announced.

"You do."

"I mean, who are you to— What? Oh." Joe stared at the old man, then turned to stare at his double, who looked ready to beg if need be. "Well, in that case…I…guess we can't just leave this dimension knowing we could have done something. I'll stay." He grabbed a loaf of bread and bit the end off, still glaring sullenly at Gennai. The others laughed softly.

They all looked at one another, and one by one, they nodded. "We'll do it."


	2. Default Chapter Title

Chaos Theory

By Aa-chan

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A/N: First I just want to thank everyone for all of your good reviews. Things like that definitely motivate me to work faster. ^_^ Also, after this chapter there's a little question I've been thinking about. I'd be eternally grateful if you were to give me your opinion on it. Well, enjoy!

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**Chapter Two**

Izzy lay in bed, now. The Digidestined of this dimension had since gone to his dimension to take their places. The group now was in the room belonging to their doubles, a small, cozy space with 4 bunk beds. They were still awake. All of the Digidestined laid next to their Digimon partners, with one exception—Matt and TK were together, as well as Patamon and Gabumon. Izzy examined them with a slight frown. He didn't know much about human relations, admittedly, but TK was getting older, and Matt's constant worrying over his brother surely wasn't good.

But then, what right did he have to think about that? He was the one who spent his time buried in his computer, trying to avoid all human contact… Izzy sighed.

"Umm, so, what's the plan for tomorrow again?" Mimi's question was met with an onslaught of groans. "Well, I'm sorry," she burst out indignantly, "But I just want to make sure we all have it right so we don't make any mistakes."

"That's okay, Mimi," Tai replied wearily, propping his head up with his hand. "Well, according to Gennai, Venommyotismon has total control over this world so he tends to spend all day in the real world, doing… um…"

"He's probably eating them all," Joe broke in with a sniff.

"Yes. Well." Tai looked slightly annoyed at Joe's pessimism, but then again, he was probably right. "We don't know that, so there's no point in worrying over it. Anyway, because of that, the best plan would be to sneak into his castle during the day and wait until he comes back at night to ambush him."

Izzy leaned back against his pillow, hands behind his head. "Yes, the element of surprise just might work. Unfortunately, Gennai couldn't give us very specific directions to his castle."

"Right," Matt continued. "All we know is that it's towards the east and is disguised by some sort of illusion. The other Digidestined managed to get that out of some servant that wasn't too fond of his boss. Big surprise there."

Mimi frowned, her eyebrows drawing together. "So even if we do get near it, we may not know it when we see it. Okay. And what was that part about rings?"

"Since our crests were destroyed in the battle against Apocolymon," Izzy responded, "New tools have been created for our use. Apparently the entities that produced our crests in the first place foresaw this and made these rings. Gennai says they're much more powerful than the crests and even allow our Digimon to digivolve further. Unfortunately, they are hidden somewhere by Venommyotismon, apparently in some impossible-to-get-to place." He rubbed his chin pensively. It seemed a big task, but maybe if they carried it out one step at a time, they could win this war. 

"And we need to digivolve further," Tentomon summed up, his wings fluttering slightly with agitation, "because Venommyotismon has had all this time to just get stronger. So he's going to be tougher opponent than the one we faced for the first time."

Izzy stared at his Digimon thoughtfully, wondering what Megakabuterimon would digivolve into. He was frightening-looking enough in that form, let alone what he might become.

"I wonder if we'll be able to hold our own," he remarked. "He will be a formidable adversary. And if we never get our rings…well…"

Kari shuddered violently from the bed beneath Tai. "I… don't want to think about that," she murmured at Gatomon's questioning glance. "I mean, after what I learned today and all…"

Izzy blinked. "Gee, I'm sorry, Kari. I didn't mean to upset you."

Kari smiled weakly. "It's okay."

"We better go to sleep then, guys," Tai said through a wide yawn. "Big day tomorrow." A loud snore from Agumon was his answer.

Izzy lay awake long after the others, staring into the dark. Maybe he really was losing touch with people…

-

Pink mist surrounded the group as they trudged up the staircase. Izzy had always been fascinated by the way the lake parted for anyone using the stairs, but it tended to annoy him, too. He didn't like things he couldn't figure out.

Abruptly the pink mist began to fade behind them. Izzy saw the opening up ahead of them, which seemed to be nothing but greyish-coloured ground. Tai, leading the way as always, emerged first, the rest following. Izzy looked around, blinking.

The world was… freezing. He had started to shiver without realizing it. Oddly, there was no snow or wind, just a thin layer of frost covering everything in sight. There was an abundance of trees, but all were stark, naked branches. Not even what appeared to be evergreens had their needles. A huge, white-capped mountain poked out above in the distance.

And the sky… that was worst of all. Purple and grey clouds roiled irritably overhead in a never-ending cacophony, lightning flashing. The sun was a swollen reddish-purple, not seeming to give off much light or warmth at all. The world was silent.

"This is the digital world?" Mimi said finally. Palmon was attempting to dig her roots into greyish, hard dirt, wrinkling what would have been her nose if she had had one.

"This soil is terrible," she muttered. "You could say that it's… well, it's dead."

"And it's so cold," Sora said, hugging herself.

"Don't worry Sora, I'll keep you warm," Biyomon piped up, ever the loyal Digimon. Her attempts to spread her wings over her partner were spoiled by Sora's giggling and pushing her away. It lightened the mood slightly.

"Well, gang, let's get going," Tai announced. He started to march off to the left, among a few straggling trees near the lake.

"That's a great idea, Tai, but there's just one problem," Matt said wryly. "You're going north."

Tai paused in midstep. "I knew that," he muttered, turning. "So… ah… which way is east again?" 

Matt slapped his forehead and pointed in the correct direction, towards what was probably a lush forest at one time. "That way, oh mighty leader."

"Exactly!" Tai exclaimed, as if he had known it all along, and strode into the trees. The others followed, shaking their heads.

There was a narrow path, and they were forced to go in pairs of Digimon/human. Branches sometimes grew out into awkward places and it became necessary for them to either climb over it or duck under. Some of them got scratched more than once, but for the most part, all talk had subsided. The area's gloominess seemed to seep into their moods.

And on they walked.

-

Mimi's feet hurt. So did her legs, and her back, and she was _cold_. Not to mention hungry and tired. It took all the effort she had in her not to complain. She had been making an attempt not to whine as much as usual, but it was hard with the exertion she had to put out every day here.

She was glad to see Palmon again, of course. It had been too long. But though she sometimes missed those days in the Digiworld, she had no desire to go through all of the hardships again. And this was even worse.

"Hey! Wait up, my shoe's untied!" a faint voice cried out.

She turned to Joe behind her, who was last in line and was hurriedly trying to tie up his laces and doing a bad job in his haste. She smiled and waited patiently until he was finished and started to rise. "Sorry about that, guys, I—" he broke off and stared at something behind Mimi's shoulder.

She turned, curious, and gaped. Sora was behind her, also whirling to see what had startled Joe so. And beyond her, there was nobody. The others were gone.

-

Tai walked on, humming slightly under his breath. He tried to ignore his aching feet. He had to keep walking, had to keep his spirits up, for the group's sake… He had to ignore the idea that they could be dead before they were able to get home. 

He frowned slightly, hugging his arms. It was so cold. And he felt as though someone was watching him, but every time he turned to look, the feeling disappeared. So he tried to shrug it off.

Suddenly, a strangled shout came from behind him. Tai spun around, tensing. Matt had stopped and was facing the way they had come from. And there was no one behind him.

Tai stared. "Where are the others?"

Matt ran a hand through his hair worriedly. "I'm not sure. It was strange. I felt like someone was watching me, for some reason… so I turned around, and they were gone! Mimi, and Sora, and Joe. All three. And they aren't showing up on my digivice."

Tai swallowed uneasily. This couldn't be happening. "I felt like someone was watching me, too. Eyes on my back… Do you think that they were captured, or…?"

Matt snorted. "Why would they capture only them and not the rest of us?"

Tai glared at him. "I don't know, Matt, maybe they were more important for some reason. Maybe the enemy could only handle three at once."

The blonde boy rolled his eyes. "Right."

Tai glared at him, arms folded. "Well, I haven't heard any suggestions from _you_, smart guy."

Kari ran over to him, eyes troubled. "Tai—"

"In fact, Matt, I haven't seen you help at all. If you know where they are, then go ahead and let me know. If you don't, then I suggest you stop acting so high-and-mighty all the time."

Matt's blue eyes were narrowed, his fists balled at his sides. "Now, listen here—"

"TAI!"

"MATT!"

The two looked down in surprise. Kari and TK were glowering at their brothers, while Izzy just looked indifferent, as if preoccupied. And not with his laptop, for once.

"Tai," Kari said, "That's enough. I know you guys can get on each other's nerves, but you have to try to get along!"

"Kari's right!" TK declared forcefully to his brother, who looked taken aback. "If you keep fighting, we'll never get anything done!"

Tai felt abashed. He should have been looking after his little sister, not the other way around. "You're right. Sorry, Kari, TK. Matt."

"Yeah. Me too."

Tai frowned. "Well, we have to find the others. They could be in real trouble and besides, we can't do this without them." He glanced up at his friends. "We'll cover more ground if we split up. Kari can come with me and Izzy and TK can go with you, Matt."

Matt looked as if he was making an effort to restrain himself from shouting. "And what good will it be if one of us finds them?" he answered through gritted teeth. "We'll still be split up."

Tai looked around then brightened. "Look, how about we meet at the foot of that mountain by tomorrow night?"

Matt's blue eyes took on a thoughtful light. "I guess that could work. I guess. Okay, you guys go that way, and we'll go this way. Tomorrow night, then. Come on, TK, Izzy. Izzy? Hey, Izzy!"

The short redheaded boy looked startled. "Huh? Oh. Okay."

As the three walked into the trees, Tai glared at Matt's retreating back. What was with him, anyway? Why did he feel the need to challenge everything he said? With a sigh, he took Kari by the hand and walked off in the opposite direction, their Digimon following silently.

-

Kari glanced up at Tai. He was staring straight ahead angrily. Still. They had been walking for a couple of hours and had since arrived on a beach. It was slightly more pleasant here than in the woods, the sound of the ocean rushing soothing, but it was even colder here. Kari was shivering, her choice outfit of pink shorts and yellow tank top not doing much to warm her, plus the sun had sunk below the horizon.

Agumon looked as if he was ready to fall asleep whether he was walking or not. Gatomon was to the left of Kari, beside the line of trees they'd emerged from. She looked fine, almost as if she was enjoying the crisp coldness.

The little group had seen nothing of the missing Digidestined so far. She hoped that Matt, TK and Izzy had found them.

"Tai," Agumon murmured blearily, "Could we by any chance stop for the night yet?"

"No." Tai didn't even look at the little orange Digimon, nor did his steps slow. "We have to find the others." He rolled his shoulders slightly and turned to peer into the trees. "And whoever's watching me, go away!"

Kari stared at her brother in disbelief. He was officially losing it. Although Matt had mentioned someone watching him, too… But Kari felt nothing. Odd.

She turned to the woods, too, her brown eyes straining. She saw nothing… no, wait. There was a quick flash of motion she saw just out of the corner of her eye…

Suddenly, a little white shape zipped out onto the sand, towards Gatomon, and then took off bounding down the stretch of beach. It was the same size as Gatomon, and was dragging her behind itself. Gatomon, having being taken by surprise could do nothing but yelp and try to get her footing. Unsuccessfully.

"Gatomon!" Kari cried out, taking off at a run.

"Kari, wait!" Tai's voice rang through the night, but she was too intent on the disappearing specks of white in the distance. Whatever the thing was, it was _fast_. She hadn't even been able to catch a good look at it. It darted into the trees, Kari in hot pursuit. It dodged the trees and other such obstacles with great agility, but the little girl wasn't so bad at this either.

They disappeared around the trunk of a huge tree, back in the direction of the beach, and Kari lost sight of them. "No… Gatomon…" she muttered under her breath. She kept running and emerged back onto the beach. She still couldn't see them, but kept running, and hoping.

Two figures suddenly came into her vision, and as she approached, she saw Gatomon crouched down as if to pounce as a cat would, a low hiss escaping from her bared teeth. And across from her was… another Gatomon...in the same position. They were identical except that the enemy wasn't wearing the gloves her Digimon partner was never seen without. And she had a strange mark on her paw that Kari was fairly sure her Gatomon didn't have. But then again, she never had seen Gatomon without her gloves.

"Who are you?" The apparently evil Gatomon growled. She sounded the same, too. "You wear gloves. Are you hiding something? Do you not have the tattoo?"

The gloved catlike Digimon snarled. "I don't know what you're talking about. What tattoo?"

"What…tattoo?" The other Digimon blinked and hesitated, looking bewildered for a second before resuming her stance. "Everyone knows what the tattoo is. You can't trick me."

Gatomon shook her head, still in that ready-to-attack stance. "I… am not from near here. I have no tattoo."

"The entire world knows what the tattoo is, fool. And you have just admitted that you are a rebel to the Lord _VenommyoTISMON_!" She ended in a scream and became a blur as she leapt.

Kari watched helplessly as the two became white obscurity, snarls of anger and pain rising from the indistinguishable shape. Suddenly they tore apart from one another, panting and their blue eyes narrowed. Bits of white fur floated down and settled on the ground.

Kari took this opportunity to take a few hesitant steps towards the other Gatomon. "Kari…?" her Gatomon asked wonderingly. "What are you doing? She's dangerous."

"I know."

The girl kept walking. The enemy took and uncertain step backwards, eyes narrowing even more. Kari knelt and reached a hand out to her. She tensed.

"Kari, don't…!"

The brunette took the paw of the enemy, who looked too stunned to do anything. She had a strange marking that looked something like a fang on it, in a strange red ink. And beside it there was an odd scar…

Her Digimon partner bounded up beside her and stopped short when she saw the scar. "That…scar…"

Kari glanced at her, releasing the paw of the other Gatomon. "What is it, Gatomon?"

Gatomon hesitated slightly then, with one claw, pulled down her glove. Kari gasped as she saw an identical scar on her paw. "Kari…I got this scar when I was a slave to Myotismon. He was a cruel master…" For a second, her eyes shadowed over, as if she was thinking back to something. "He gave it to me. I have these gloves to hide it. It's not a pleasant thing to remember, if you know what I mean." Gatomon gave Kari a level gaze. "This…this is…me."

Gatomon's double gasped, not comprehending. "But… but how? Who are you? How can you be me?" She took a few hasty steps backward, stumbling. "I… don't understand."

Kari considered. "Gatomon," she said, towards the one of this dimension, "We were going to set up camp fairly soon, anyway, I think. Would you like to stay with us for the night while we explain everything?"

The Gatomon looked uneasy. "How do I know this isn't some sort of trick?"

Kari smiled sincerely. She knew what Gatomon was like before switching sides, and all she had needed to bring out the good in her was a friend. "It isn't. I swear on it. Just give us a chance. Please?"

There was a tense pause before she finally nodded, sighing. "I'm probably going to regret this," she muttered.

Fifteen minutes later, the three were gathered around a fire. "Okay," Kari said. "Before we start, I'm going to need something to call you." She smiled. "I can keep calling you both Gatomon."

She appeared to think it over before giving Kari a shy smile. "Before he died, there was… someone…who used to call me Angel." Kari saw Gatomon flinch out of the corner of her eye as if struck. "He didn't say it very often, only when I desperately needed cheering up. I don't know why he called me that, but I liked it. It made me feel like I was special, better than what I am. Better than a slave to Venommyotismon." Abruptly she looked embarrassed. "Sorry. I… don't know why I'm babbling like this. For some reason, the way you look… you look like someone I should trust, though I don't why…"

Kari pondered for a moment. Angel, then. Who was the person who had called her that? Maybe Wizardmon. She briefly wondered what had happened to him in this dimension.

"Okay, Angel," she said, edging closer to the fire. "I am going to tell you a story. It began with eight special Digimon that were created…"

-

"…And that's when we found you. Or rather, you found us."

Angel had been silent throughout the entire story, staring into the flames and occasionally gaping at Kari with open disbelief.

"I…I can't believe it. But then, if it isn't true, who _are_ you? And how did you make up that story on the spot like that? And why?" She stared into the dancing firelight, it reflecting in her eyes. "But… it's a lot to take in. Do you mind if I sleep on it?" 

Kari shook her head. "Of course not, go ahead." Angel curled up into a comfortable position and closed her eyes, but Kari was sure she was still awake.

"Kariiii!"

She winced slightly. "Tai? Tai, I'm so sorry…" As he jogged up with a heinous look twisting his features, carrying a sleeping Agumon, she prepared to face the wrath of the anxious and terrified older brother.

-

_ _

_A/N: Okay, the question I mentioned at the beginning of this chapter has to do with romance. Romance is obviously very big within the Digimon fandom, and I'm debating whether or not to add it to my story. I have to admit I like stories that include love, but the problem is that sometimes it turns out seeming very tacked-on and corny. I'm not sure if I can pull it off. What do you guys think? Should I? And if you think I should, don't give me your opinion of who the couple should be—I've decided on who it will be if I do it. I'd be eternally grateful if you'd give me your input. Thanks so much, guys! ^_^_


	3. Default Chapter Title

Chaos Theory

_By Aa-chan_

_ _

_A/N: Wow, did this ever take a long time to complete. I'm really sorry, everyone. A lot of things delayed this, entailing writers block, deletion of an entire hard drive, my birthday, and a week spent at my grandmother's. But, it's out finally! ^^; Thanks to everyone who responded about my question on romance; I've decided not to include it, this time. I do have an idea floating around in my head whose main theme is romance, though, so maybe I'll get that written soon. ^^ Anyways, enough rambling!_

_ _

Chapter Three

Joe was overjoyed when Sora and Mimi agreed with him after he hesitantly suggested stopping for the night. It was odd, being with just the two of them. He felt like he had some sort of responsibility over them; like he had to act as the leader. The last time he had played leader while stranded with Sora hadn't gone so well, but he was older now, and more experienced. He was the only boy, and he was the oldest. Much as the idea frightened him, he decided to take over Tai's usual position while they were separated.

He was currently attempting to start a fire with little success. Sora was gazing at him with her usual patience, while Mimi wasn't doing quite so well.

"_Joe_! Would you _please_ hurry _up_?" She sighed dramatically, her arms wrapped around herself. "It is freezing out here!"

Joe flushed slightly as Sora gently took the sticks from his hands and almost immediately created a flame. Who was he kidding? Sora may have been younger than him, and a girl, but she made a much better leader than he ever could.

Oh, well. The boy was grateful for the fire in any case—the strange little group had begun climbing a mountain. They'd reasoned out that since the land was relatively flat and this mountain sprouted out of nowhere, this wasn't exactly a natural-seeming landform. Venommyotismon was possibly on top.

The going hadn't been too rough, aside from the constant bite of the cold. There was a path that seemed almost carved right out of the stone winding gradually upwards, but since the steepness was at a minimum, it had taken quite some time to get where they were now, camped out on a craggy outcropping with two or three struggling trees. Joe leaned back against a boulder, trying to find a position that didn't include rock stabbing into his back, and gazed up at the peak. They would probably arrive at the top by the next day or so.

They'd fallen into relative silence, aside from Biyomon and Palmon whispering to one another and giggling occasionally. Whatever.

Joe glanced around at their surroundings, a mysterious feeling suddenly gnawing at his stomach. Was someone watching them…? A shadow flickered out of the corner of his eye and he whipped his head around, ignoring Gomamon's curious stare. There was nothing there… or was there…?

Mimi suddenly spun her head around from his spot near the fire, her hands pausing in the act of rubbing together. "Who's there?" she asked, her voice holding an edge.

There was a long silence before Mimi let out a long breath. "Just our imagination," she informed Joe.

"Right." He had to admit, he _was_ rather prone to paranoia… But this was different. He could almost feel something filthy, evil, disgusting beyond imagination, staring at him, recording every twitch, every dart of the eye and nervous smoothing of his pants. He was uncomfortable, to say the least.

Abruptly, a hand reached out and snatched Joe's vest from behind, lifting him into the air. He yelped loudly and began to bat furiously at whatever it was. All he felt were spindly arms that felt somewhat like leather that had an unbelievably firm grip on him. Voices called out incoherently from somewhere beneath him.

Already they were high above the ground, and though Gomamon had digivolved to Zudomon, he lacked any way to reach his human partner.

Joe realized suddenly that he was screaming at the top of his lungs, terror squelching any common sense. "_Help me! Sora, Mimi! GOMAMON!_!"

They were going at an incredible rate. The wind whipped his hair about wildly as he watched the specks that were his friends disappear into the distance.

-

Matt marched grimly through the forest, eyes still straining for any sign of the others through the brittle branches. He grunted and hefted TK up higher; he had fallen asleep while they'd stopped for a brief rest. Usually Matt would have put the welfare of his brother before all else, but TK hadn't been disturbed by Matt's carrying him, and he really wanted to find his friends. He hated to admit it, but he was extremely worried about them.

The blonde boy glanced back at Izzy, who was walking along calmly and didn't appear at all tired. He hadn't said more than two words thus far. Matt had briefly wondered what was preoccupying the kid once or twice, but there were much more important matters at hand.

TK suddenly stirred in his arms, his little brow furrowing slightly. He mumbled something under his breath, stirring again. Matt halted slowly and frowned at the little boy. Was he having a nightmare? Izzy slowed also, not seeming to care, or even notice.

He gave a start as TK's eyes suddenly flew wide open, his innocent blue eyes immediately collecting unshed tears. He whispered something quietly.

"What was that, TK?" Matt's voice shook; his brother looked unspeakably petrified.

"Puppetmon." It was just barely audible, this time, but he made it out.

Matt smiled slightly and ruffled TK's hair. "It was just a nightmare, TK. Don't worry. We destroyed him, remember?"

He shook his head solemnly; silver tears streaking down his face. Matt was slightly taken aback at the sight. "You don't understand, Matt. Puppetmon…"

"TK…" A familiar taunting voice rang out suddenly. "Time to plaa-aay…"

Matt nearly dropped his brother, and even Izzy was startled out of his trance.

"Come play a game with me, TK…"

The little boy burst into sobs, huddling against his brother's chest. Matt's arms curled around him protectively. He took a few defensive steps backwards, searching the trees where Puppetmon had seemed to enjoy perching in.

"Of course," Izzy breathed from beside him. "If Myotismon was never defeated in this dimension, then of course the Dark Masters weren't."

TK had started mumbling into Matt's shirt, rocking back and forth slightly. He grimaced and ducked his head down to listen.

"…gonna kill me, gonna kill all of us, turning playtime into pain, evil, evil, evil, twisted, going to die, everyone'll die, tease and torture…"

Matt gaped in disbelief. Was this his little brother? The little boy who was admittedly prone to crying but always managed to come through no matter what, who outsmarted his nemesis and learned and grew into a fairly responsible kid? He swallowed.

Izzy had apparently heard TK's babblings, for he struck a thoughtful pose. "Apparently," he murmured, "the situation with Puppetmon gave TK deeper wounds than we had assumed."

Matt glared murderously at him. "Thanks so much for your analogy! I don't suppose you have anything that could actually be of use right now?!"

"Don't be frightened, TK… I just want to have some fun…"

TK shuddered violently from Matt's hold. He snarled and Gabumon placed himself in front of his partner. Matt blinked. He'd forgotten about the Digimon. A glance showed Patamon, lying alarmingly still on the ground, but his eyes were wide open. Glassy-seeming, almost.

"I should Digivolve, Matt," Gabumon spoke up.

He nodded his consent and felt the familiar surge of energy, an overwhelming feeling of needing to protect his friends, overwhelm him for a moment. Then Metalgarurumon stood before him, in a position that looked ready to pounce.

"Puppetmon!" Matt cried out. "Come out and fight, you coward!"

"Coward?" The voice had lost its taunting tone and sounded flat. "Did you just call me a COWARD?"

"I don't think that was the best of ideas, Matt," Izzy said nervously. "Metalgarurumon may have defeated the Puppetmon of our dimension, but this was has had time to grow strong."

A hazy silhouette formed abruptly and soon Puppetmon was standing before them, head lowered and eyes glaring at him menacingly. A Mega Digimon, and more powerful than the one he had faced before. Matt tried not to tremble. He almost subconsciously hugged TK closer.

The Digimon was removing his strange hammer from his back, slowly and deliberately. His eyes held a dangerous glint that didn't seem to bode well for their side. The Puppetmon he had known had been mentally unstable; that much was obvious. But this one… this one seemed to have grown… psychotic.

"Puppet… _Pummel!_"

The attack was unexpected, somehow. The wooden Digimon had been moving so carefully, as if trying to prolong their fright. But now, balls of yellow light shot out of his hammer at alarming speed. Matt let out a strangled cry as one headed straight for his face, and the world was consumed in blinding light.

-

"_GUUUYYSS_!"

Mimi groggily reached up and tugged her hat down over her face. Anything to shut out whoever yelling, anything for a few more minutes of beauty sleep.

"_SOOORA! MIIIMI_!"

A name rose out of her sleepy mind to match the voice. Tai. She groaned and curled into a ball. "Shut up, Tai… _Tai_?!" She sat bolt upright, her hat flying forward to land on the ground in front of her. The wild-haired boy was sprinting up to them with a huge grin, waving madly. Kari and their Digimon weren't far behind.

Mimi blinked hard, trying to fully awaken. Thankfully, the endlessly roiling back clouds overhead blocked any bright light.

Next to her, Sora was struggling to a sitting position. Where was Joe? 'Oh, that's right…' Mimi bit her lower lip worriedly.

"_SOOORA! MIIIMI!"_

Mimi glared at Tai, who came to a full stop in front of her, grinning like a loony. "You don't have to yell." Her temporary annoyance was broken as it dawned on her that they were partially reunited. She giggled excitedly. "This is great! How did you guys find us? Where are the others?" She did a double take suddenly. "And why am I seeing two Gatomons?" She wailed and clutched her head. "I can't think properly this early in the morning…" she grumbled.

Tai threw his head back and laughed, probably as much out of relief as out of amusement. "It's past noon, sleeping beauties," he informed them with a smirk.

Sora gasped. "No way!" She removed her Digivice from her belt loop, squinting at it. "Wow, it's true! I can't believe we slept this long!"

Mimi shrugged. "I usually slept this long back home. On the weekends, at least."

Sora blinked several times, suddenly, staring at Gatomon's double. "Am I seeing things, or was Mimi right?"

"Mimi was right, for once her life!" Tai laughed again, and Kari tactfully stepped forward.

"Ah, Mimi, Sora, you know how we all had different versions of ourselves here? Well, this is Gatomon's double. You can call her Angel."

Mimi stared at her. Of course—the others had doubles, so why not Gatomon? It made sense when she thought about it. But something was troubling her, tickling the back of her mind.

"But if Kari and Gatomon never met in this dimension… then shouldn't Gatomon still be on Myotismon's side?"

The others stared at Mimi in surprise. She felt a pang of annoyance; she may not have been as smart as them, but she wasn't a complete idiot.

"That's right," Angel said hesitantly. "I was, until I met Kari and Gatomon last night…"

"And you switched sides just like that?" Sora spoke up.

Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Well, I wouldn't go that far," she muttered. "I just think that if they could have destroyed Venommyotismon and become friends, maybe it's possible for me, too."

"Where's Joe?" The others turned to Tai, who was frowning and glancing around. "And what _did_ happen to separate you guys from us, anyway?"

Sora explained what had happened. As she neared the part where Joe was captured, Mimi felt guilt creep over her unexpectedly. She had known there was someone in the dark, but had dismissed it. She was largely to blame. And who knew where Joe was now? What if he was hurt, or even—she cut off that train of thought abruptly.

Tai, Kari and their Digimon settled onto the ground in silence. The brief relief over finding one another had faded.

"Where's Matt? And TK, and Izzy?" Sora finally broke the silence.

Tai told them the story of their separation. "We were going to meet at the foot of the mountain, but we saw your campfire and thought we'd come investigate since we had the time. We're supposed to meet them tonight."

Sora grimaced. "We came all the way up here for nothing, then? Oh well, there's no help for it. We'll have to start down. Though I don't know what we'll do for the rest of the day once we get there."

The bearer of Courage grinned and rose to his feet. "It's simple. We'll have all day to have fun and relax." And he began to trek down the mountain, the others reluctantly following.

-

Angel padded along quietly, trailing behind the group slightly. She glanced at the boy with the big hair, Tai. He was marching along as if he had not a care in the world, keeping up a happy banter with the other Digimon and the two girls, though they seemed slightly less enthusiastic about it. She marveled at that; this little group of children, forced to grow up so quickly and learn responsibility, thrust into near-death situations, into strange worlds, and they still managed to act as if nothing was wrong. Angel thought that perhaps their sanity depended on it.

The little Digimon gave a start—she'd told herself that this could all be a lie, some sort of cruel trick, and she had been determined not to let her guard down by believing Kari's story. The odd part was, Gatomon had mentioned having her memory restored by Wizardmon. She'd talked about how her entire life, she had been waiting for someone… her Digidestined partner. Angel, however, didn't seem able to remember any of that. She wasn't sure whether that supported their story or went against it; after all, why would she make up a thing like that if she knew Angel wouldn't remember it? It was confusing, but right now she supposed she had to believe their story, reluctant as she was. Everything she'd seen so far supported what Kari had told her, for the most part, and they hadn't made any move against her as of yet.

She glanced over at Gatomon walking on all fours next to Kari. Her wide blue eyes shone with happiness as she gazed up at her human partner adoringly. 

Angel turned away with a sigh. Could she be like that? Gatomon was, after all, born an exact double of herself. She had changed, though, and that lead Angel to believe that she could, also. But the only way she could escape Venommyotismon's clutch would be to destroy him once and for all, and that meant teaming up with these people.

It was a daunting thought, going against her cruel master. He was the strongest Digimon imaginable; she had the scars to prove it. He had the most powerful Digimon under his wing, even that odd ragtag group that called themselves the Dark Masters.

Something soft and wet suddenly tickled her paw. She peered upwards, just in time to see millions of tiny snowflakes falling from the constantly churning clouds. Angel turned to the others, still slightly ahead of her, with wide eyes. "Hey… it's snowing."

The others stopped and turned to her. "Yeah. So?" Tai raised an eyebrow expectantly at her. "It's cold. It snows when it's cold."

Angel shook her head in exasperation. "Not here, it doesn't. For years the Digiworld has been a barren land, freezing cold, and it may sound weird, but it stopped snowing, and raining. Even the wind seems to have disappeared. Something to do with Venommyotismon's rule, I guess. I don't really know. But… it's snowing now."

"I wonder what it could mean?" Agumon wondered.

Mimi had her head tilted back and removed that odd-looking hat of hers, snowflakes settling on her cheeks, in her eyelashes. "Whatever it means, it's beautiful, isn't it? It's like a sign of hope that we can beat him… that he doesn't have complete control over this world." This earned her a few affectionate smiles. She may not have been the deepest or most intelligent person Angel had met, but she sometimes said just the right thing.

They resumed their journey down the rocky grey mountainside in relative silence. After a time, Angel found herself examining Kari. She looked about 9 years old or so, but she seemed to speak with wisdom beyond her years. She didn't seem so bad, really. She was a cute little girl, and seemed very friendly. If she was to be friends with a human, she supposed Kari would be the type of girl Angel would pick.

The feline Digimon was shaken out of her thoughts abruptly as straggling trees began to pepper the land. They had arrived at the foot of the mountain. The group slowed to a halt and stared at one another in silence for a moment.

"Well, we're here," Mimi said impatiently. "Now what do we do?"

"I have a suggestion…" The voice that rang out threateningly was not one of the Digidestined group. It was thick, cultured-sounding, and supporting some sort of strange accent. Angel spun about, assuming a defensive stance immediately. Behind her was the Dark Master Piedmon, smiling cruelly and standing tall in all his arrogant glory.

"I think we're in trouble," Tai muttered.


	4. Default Chapter Title

Chaos Theory

By Aa-chan

_ _

** **

# Chapter Four

Izzy drifted into conciousness. His head _hurt. He tried to place a hand to his throbbing temple, but his arm didn't move. Painfully and slowly opening his eyes, he found that he was chained to a stone wall alongside Matt and TK, neither of whom were awake yet._

He shook his head in annoyance—the pain made it hard to think straight. Tentomon. Where was he? And Patamon, and Gabumon? He frowned slightly; why hadn't he helped back there? Where were they? He'd thought he was as good as dead when he'd seen Puppetmon's attack come flying at him.

TK. Izzy glanced at the little blonde boy, who seemed to be sleeping fairly peacefully, especially after what had happened to him. The redhead blinked. What _had happened to him? Izzy mused over that. He was obviously correct when he'd said that Puppetmon had affected TK more deeply than they'd realized. Sometimes, he knew, when an event in a child's past affected them that much, they shut it away deep inside of his self. It was something akin to repressed memory. His headache slowly began to subside._

Matt lifted his head, suddenly, moaning slightly. He paused for a moment, probably remembering what had happened and taking in their surroundings, then turned to TK, then Izzy.

"Where are we?" he asked, wincing at the pain speaking brought. "Where're Gabumon and the others?"

"I don't know," Izzy answered, "but my guess is that we're in a dungeon in Venommyotismon's headquarters."

Matt looked as if he couldn't quite decide between being angry, defeated, or overjoyed. "Well, the good news is, we've found it. But how are we going to escape these chains and find our Digimon?"

As if in response to his question, they heard the sound of a key turning in the single steel door. It opened, and a figure stepped into the room. Izzy stared.

"Joe!"

-

Piedmon stepped forward, face contorted into a cruel smile. The group took a collective step backwards.

"Time to digivolve, guys!" Tai shouted.

Angel stared as the Digimon were all enveloped by a glow, then emerged looking completely different. She swept her gaze over them all, but stared at Angewomon in particular. Kari's story had described her, but this new form was breathtaking all the same. And _she could become that, too? It would have been easier if she had known this dimension's Kari, of course, but she'd grown strong enough to digivolve into Gatomon on her own. Maybe one day._

Sora had leaned over to whisper something in Tai's ear. "What's that pouch he's got hanging at his waist? He didn't have that when we fought him, did he?"

Both Tai and Angel turned to frown at the little brown leather sack. As far as Angel knew, he'd had it for quite some time. She vaguely remembered the time he'd come in to report to Myotismon and had left wearing it, but she hadn't thought anything of it at the time. Was it important? She wasn't sure. The only way to find out would be to somehow steal it from him.

"He definitely didn't have it," Tai was replying in a low voice. "All I remember being there were those freaky key chains he turned us into."

Piedmon had been standing there closely studying each of them one by one, and his critical eyes now fell upon Angel. "Well, now. We have a handful of humans and Digimon, who I expect are some of the Digidestined. Now what I find quite surprising is that we have a little Gatomon, one of Venommyotismon's little… pets…" He said the word with obvious distaste. "And it's certainly you, for you bear the fang tattoo, not to mention those nasty scars."

Angel's mind worked quickly. "Well, way to go, Piedmon, you've just ruined my plan," she said sassily, stalking up to him. "I _had planned to gain their trust and then strike, but I guess it's a bit too late for that now."_

Had Piedmon had any eyebrows, they would be raised right now. "I see. Well, I, myself, have always preferred a more…direct approach."

"Angel?" The feline Digimon half-turned to see Kari looking troubled. "What are you doing?"

Angel groaned inwardly. She had hoped they would have caught on. "I'm going to fight you, of course. Did you really believe that I would change sides? After being loyal to Lord Venommyotismon for so long?" She sniffed, and willed the others to understand.

"Angel, don't you see—" Kari cut off as Sora laid a hand on her head. She felt a surge of relief; Sora got the idea.

"It's too late, Kari," the girl said. She stared hard at Kari, as if also willing her to figure it out.

Angel glanced at Piedmon, praying that he wouldn't catch on. If he had, he didn't give any sign of it. She strolled over to his side, facing the partially confused children. "Shall we make it a team effort?" she asked sweetly.

Piedmon rolled his eyes. "Very well," he said testily. "Though I'm sure they wouldn't be much of a match for me alone."

The Digidestined's Digimon tensed, ready to fight. 'I have to do it now,' Angel thought. She eyed Piedmon's waste and judged the distance, then leapt, a virtual blur to the others, she knew. She grabbed the pouch in her teeth—it wasn't fastened very securely—and tossed it into the air. She heard something small jingling inside.

"Catch, Tai!"

Tai was caught off-guard, but surprisingly, Mimi wasn't. She snatched the pouch out of the air and immediately opened it.

"No!" Piedmon's eyes were wide and murderous, and it appeared he was about to aim an attack straight at Mimi. 

Togemon leaped forward. "You want some needle spray, huh?" she threatened, sending her deadly needles straight for the evil Digimon. He easily dodged them.

"The rings!" Mimi cried. She was holding a handful of the golden jewelry. Angel bounded towards her, not giving Piedmon a chance to direct his frustration at her. The rings were large and heavy, carved all over with intricate designs involving the children's crests. Mimi slipped the teardrop-engraved one onto her finger immediately, and the others crowded around to snatch theirs.

"Yes!"

-

"So what happened to you when Puppetmon came, Patamon?"

Patamon hesitated at Tentomon's inquiry. In all truth, he wasn't sure himself. "I'm not sure. I kind of share emotions with TK. Don't you and Izzy?" Tentomon nodded impatiently. "Well, he was suddenly terrified. I could feel it…in my bones. It was the most scared I've ever felt him be. I guess it was too much for me and I fainted."

He'd awakened to the low murmurs of Tentomon and Gabumon and found himself in a cell in a long room. On the other side of the bars was a Bakemon guard sitting on a stool.

Tentomon had tried his Electro Shocker on the bars, as had Gabumon with his Blue Blaster and Patamon with his Boom Bubble. It was to no avail, but that wasn't what surprised him. What did surprise him was the fact that the guard hadn't tried to stop them—he'd just smiled ruefully. He supposed the Bakemon knew their "cage" was too strong to escape that way.

Patamon was worried about TK. He had been in such a state…and who knew where he was now? He was sure his partner was okay, though—he would have felt it if something terrible had happened.

Gabumon, on the other hand, didn't seem so sure. He was sitting on the dirt floor, drawing idle circles on it with his claw. "What if something's happened to Matt?" he murmured. "I would never forgive myself for not being there to protect him."

The Bakemon guard suddenly heaved a large sigh. They turned to him curiously. "Look…" he said in answer to their questioning stares. "I don't like to see Digimon locked up like this. I only took this job because I didn't have the force to oppose Venommyotismon." He leapt off his stool and floated over the bars. "But if what he's said about the Digidestined is true, then you're strong. I can join you in the fight against him."

Patamon stared at him, hardly daring to believe. What luck! The Bakemon produced a key. "Ready to go face your destiny?" he asked with a grin.

-

Angel watched happily as the Digimon evolved to Ultimate, with the exception of Angewomon, who was, of course already at that stage. Those rings, whatever they were, worked wonders.

"Kari… I can… I can digivolve!" Angewomon cried out happily. "I can already feel stronger!"

Angel grinned like a moron. They were going to beat him! She looked at Piedmon and gasped. He had his Trump Sword aimed at Angewomon. She was defenseless while she digivolved. Angel had to do something!

Angewomon was surrounded by a glow, now, beginning to digivolve. It was too late to call out warning. Her heart beat like a jackhammer.

"Trump…"

Beat.

"Angewomon digivolve to…"

Beat.

"Sword!"

Beat.

Piedmon threw the two swords, aimed to kill. With a strangled yell, Angel propelled herself up out of the snow, right in their path. There was a searing flash of pain, and she sank into darkness.

-

"…Magnadramon!"

Kari stared in horror as the swords pierced Angel's side and she let out a blood-curdling scream of pain. She was reconfigured into Digital data that dissolved before she even hit the ground.

"_Angel! No!" This was Magnadramon screaming. Kari turned in surprise to her; in watching Angel's demise, she'd temporarily forgotten about her Digimon._

And all Kari could do was gape. Angewomon was now a hovering dragon-like creature, covered in shining pink scales. She had a mane resembling that of a lion, and two curved horns protruding from her head. Many tiny wings ran the length of her body.

"Magna…dramon?" she breathed, replaying in her mind what the Digimon had called herself.

Magnadramon's blue eyes were narrowed and she was shaking with rage. "How could you?" she asked in a flat tone. "That was not very smart… DRAGON… FIRE!" A blast of fire spiraled out of her mouth, headed straight for Piedmon. The enemy Digimon only had time to widen his eyes is terror before the attack hit. The flames consumed their vision and the smoke rose grey and thick into the sky. When the fire cleared, Piedmon was no more. 

Magnadramon returned to her Rookie stage of Salamon and numbly stumbled through the snow over to Kari, who picked her up and held her tightly. "I was just so angry," she murmured, "and scared, and that ring was giving me so much strength. And when he… when he…" Kari cut her off with a hug.

"It's okay," she whispered. "I understand."

Mimi, who had been watching the two of them, suddenly burst into tears. She hadn't really know Angel well—none of them had—but she proved herself to be a wonderful Digimon in the end, and sacrificed herself for them. Mimi had always hated when an ally died. "Let's… let's go make a memorial for her, like in the old day," she sobbed, half-incoherently.

The group silently agreed.

-

Gabumon followed the white back of the Bakemon throughout endlessly twisting hallways. All were lushly carpeted in red, with lamps placed regularly along the beige wall. It was a fairly pleasant place, surprisingly. He wondered how Venommyotismon traveled through here; the halls were much too small for that enormous creature.

For not the first time, he briefly wondered if this was some sort of trick, to lead them straight to their dooms; but they were already trapped in the first place, so that wouldn't make much sense, would it? Their only choice was to trust the Bakemon.

"Are we there yet?" Tentomon spoke in his oft-heard impatient tone, but it was a hushed whisper. Despite the warm aura of the area, they knew where they were and it didn't miss leaving an impact on them.

"Not really," the Bakemon replied. "The cell Venommyotismon is keeping them in is still fairly far away. This is a bigger place than you may realize."

"Oh, that's just perfect. My wings are killing me..." He trailed off into unintelligible mutters and Gabumon smiled. It was nice to know some things never changed, at least.

-

Tai could only stare at the sight that lay before the group.

"What…what _is it?" Sora finally sputtered. _

"I have no idea," he murmured in reply.

After they had made a memorial for Angel, they'd somberly waited until nighttime for Matt, TK and Izzy. They never showed up. Rather than waste time by waiting, Tai had decided they could be in serious trouble and they set off on their journey yet again. They had trekked through the forest until coming to a beach, and still continued on through what was probably once a lush green field but was now a huge area of hard soil.

They'd been walking for most of the day and the sun was setting when Biyomon had spotted something odd in the distance from her place in the air.After awhile they could all see it, but it was hard to tell what exactly it was. It spanned to the right and left of Tai's vision until it disappeared. And now they saw it for what it was.

It was as if a line had been drawn down the center of the land, and on one side was the rocky dirt and on the other was a desert. Sand as far as the eyes could see, not to mention many scattered pyramids.

"Well, there's only one way to find out what it is," Tai announced, and stepped to the other side. It was instantly boiling, the sun beating down on him like there was no tomorrow despite the fact that it was night. He was momentarily stunned, but then, he had seen stranger things in the Digiworld than this, "Come on over guys," he said with a grin.

They all hesitantly stepped over and made expressions of slight surprise as they entered the heat. Mimi shed her hat with a giggle. "Ooh, it's finally warm again!"

Tai led the march into the heat, and though it was nice to be warm again, eventually it became stifling. Palmon began to wilt until Mimi remembered the time in Etemon's desert and gave the plantlike Digimon her hat.

Tai was beginning to feel a little worn out when out of the corner of his eye he detected a flicker of movement. He turned his head, frowning at a nearby pyramid. He slowed to a halt, dismissing the questions of his puzzled friends, and stared at it. He was beginning to think it was all in his head when the image of the pyramid seemed to…waver. Just slightly, but it was there.

"Tai, what's wrong?" Kari asked worriedly.

"There's something funny about that pyramid," he replied, not taking his eyes off it.

"I saw it too," Sora informed them, chocolate eyes narrowed.

The two exchanged glances and headed towards the structure without another word, a bewildered Mimi and Kari trailing behind. Tai came to a halt as he neared it and studied the surface. Bronze stones, fitted together impeccably… nothing odd as far as he could tell. He poked a finger at it experimentally…and met with no resistance. His finger passed right through the wall.

He glanced at the others and stepped through, the girls following suit, Digimon in front of them protectively. The first thing that hit him was a blast of cold air. Wind whipped his hair around his head, slightly obscuring his vision, but what he did see was terrifying. Standing before them was a huge, black castle, bearing angrily down on them. It was a mass of iron, hooks and spires aplenty. Many Devidramon guarded it, their black leathery wings carrying them in spirals in the starless black sky overhead, their red eyes constantly searching.

Tai pushed the others back through to the desert hurriedly, praying that they weren't spotted as he stepped through. They fell to the ground, tripping over one another in their haste. Their eyes were all wide as they gazed at each other and panted. "Well guys," Tai managed, "Looks like we've found the place we've been looking for."

Sora nodded. "'Hidden within an illusion,' Gennai told us."

Tai frowned and pulled his legs up, resting his chin on his knees. "It's night now," he reasoned slowly. "He'll be there sleeping." There was no need to point out who 'he' was. "We'd best get some sleep and sneak into his castle during the day tomorrow and wait for him to return."

They settled down to sleep, their full day of walking causing Mimi, Kari and the Digimon to drift off almost immediately. The way Sora was stirring, Tai knew she wasn't asleep yet. He thought he understood why. The biggest battle of their lives was going to take place the next day, and they had no idea where the others were. Their only choice was to fight, and likely get themselves killed without having all 8 of them together, despite the power of their rings.

Tai rolled over onto his side only to find himself staring into Sora's wide and troubled eyes.

"You okay?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Not really."

Tai frowned thoughtfully. He hated to see Sora like this. He had always thought of her as a girl with a lot of spirit, confidence and bravery. Seeing her scared like this annoyed him, for some reason. He supposed that it reminded him that all of the Digidestined had many facets that included their own little insecurities and fears. He sat up, Sora doing the same with a sigh, and he fixed her with a level gaze.

"Look, Sora," he said, "I know it's scary. And let me be honest with you, it scares me, too. I'm always scared, even though I may act like I'm not."

Sora watched him silently, but he could tell she was slightly surprised.

"I know that every day we're here we're risking our lives, and we may just end up paying the ultimate price. But we can't let ourselves get frightened away from the task. We are the Digidestined. We are the only ones who have the ability to save these worlds and it's our responsibility to at least try. If we all die but save everyone else in the process, then it's worth it, don't you think? We can stew and worry over it, or we can walk in their with our heads held high, ready to do whatever it takes to win."

Sora stared at him for a few moments longer. "I think you're beginning to grow up, Tai Kamiya," she informed him. She smiled and lay back down, leaving Tai to stare at her in bewilderment. He finally shrugged and stretched out onto the sand. He didn't quite understand many of the things Sora said, but he had meant what he told her.

That night Tai dreamed of striding into Venommyotismon's chamber alongside Sora, their eyes blazing with defiance, courage, and love.

A/N: All right, I couldn't help it! I'm a hopeless romantic, what can I say? ^. ~ So, how did you like it? Please, R/R, it really motivates me work faster. I do well with praise. ^^ I'd also like to thank Aardwulf and Ryan Berke for being so darned cool by reading all the parts so far and commenting. Thanks guys!


	5. Default Chapter Title

Chaos Theory

By Aa-chan

# Chapter Five

"So you were captured, too, then, huh, Joe?"

"Yeah. I managed to escape, though."

As the little group walked through the halls, Izzy frowned slightly at Joe. He looked odd, somehow—he was walking stiff-backed and unnaturally, although he sounded well enough.

"How'd you do it, Joe?" Matt asked, impressed. "I didn't think you had it in you. And where's Gomamon?"

The blue-haired boy gave him a lopsided smile over his shoulder. "Well, I explained how we got separated, right? So Mimi, Sora, the Digimon and I had set up camp for the night when a Devidramon grabbed me from behind. Gomamon's still with them, I guess. Probably." He shrugged, and Izzy's frown deepened. Something about that didn't seem quite right. "So I was knocked out, I guess, and I woke up in a cell. I managed to fool the guard and escape not long ago."

"Joe," Izzy spoke up suddenly, "You're leading us through Venommyotismon's castle, am I correct in saying so?"

"Yeah." Joe looked unperturbed, but Matt glanced at him as if to wonder what he was getting at.

"And you escaped not long ago?"

"Yeah."

Izzy slowed to a halt, causing the others to do the same. The brothers looked at him, puzzled. "Then how exactly do you know your way around here?" he asked carefully.

Joe gave a start of surprise. "Oh, well—"

"And you're acting strangely. The Joe I know would be much more concerned with his friend Gomamon than you seem to be."

"I—"

"Joe?" TK was tugging at the tall boy's pant leg, looking worried.

Izzy was still studying Joe, however. And in that moment he saw his face twist into a furious grimace. The redhead, not having time to think, leapt forward and pushed TK out of the way just as Joe's foot swished through the air the little boy had been standing in.

Matt gave a strangled cry, and chaos exploded. He punched Joe square in the nose, who fell to the carpeted floor, reeling. He placed a hand to his face to cup the blood that was trickling from his nostrils just as fist met with cheek, and again, and again.

Izzy moved closer to TK, who suddenly erupted into tears. "I," he sobbed, "I-I…_I need you, Patamon!"_

With that, a bright light shone down from an adjoining passageway. TK hiccupped and looked up just as Angemon jogged in, there being no room to fly. "I'm coming, TK!" he bellowed.

The Digimon quickly assessed the situation and pried Matt off of Joe, who was nearly unconscious at this time. He held Joe in a firm grip. "What's going on?" he asked, as Gabumon and Tentomon hurriedly appeared.

"Tentomon!" cried Izzy, overjoyed. "You're okay!"

"Izzy!" he cried in reply.

"Whoa, look out!" TK suddenly cried. "A Bakemon! Get him, Angemon!"

"No, TK," Gabumon tried to explain, "he—"

"Hurry!"

"Would someone mind telling me why Matt was pummeling Joe?"

"Why are you just—?"

"_Quiet!" Izzy suddenly hollered. The others froze then stared at him. "This is getting us nowhere," he said levelly, trying not to let his exasperation show. "First of all, Angemon, can you stay in that form long enough to detain Joe for awhile?"_

"Sure," the heavenly Digimon acknowledged.

"Okay, excellent. Now, how about you guys explain what has happened since we last saw one another, and we'll follow with our story."

Once the group had everything sorted out between them, the next problem was Joe, who was currently glaring at each of them in turn through eyes half-glazed over with pain.

"Excuse me," Bakemon suddenly interjected, "but we've been having this dandy little conversation in the hallways of the domain of the evil overlord of two worlds. This area is usually empty, but someone could easily come along and spot as at any time just the same. I think we ought to go to his chambers, which will be empty, and figure out everything there, hmm? Besides, we want to fight him and that's where he'll be tonight."

Izzy gave an awkward laugh. "You're right. Sorry, let's go."

As they resumed their march once more, Izzy kept mainly to himself. He felt rather good about himself, though he couldn't quite put his finger on why. During the time in the Digiworld he had been feeling very preoccupied. He felt useless. He was smart, sure, and had helped get the group out of a few scrapes in the past, but when it came down to the fight, he wasn't strong.

But just now, when he realized that something wasn't right with Joe, and when he had saved little TK… Well, he supposed that perhaps he did have his use, after all. His strengths just laid in other areas than, say, Tai.

"How are we going to fight him without the others?" Matt was suddenly asking, breaking into Izzy's thoughts. "And we don't have the rings yet, either. The Digidestined of this dimension couldn't do it without Kari. What chance do we have?"

Bakemon glanced at the blonde boy, black eyes taking on a worried look. "You mean there's more of you? Oh, no. Why did I do this? My loyalties belong to Lord Venommyotismon, I should have kept it that way, now I'm going to die, and this is perfect, just perfect—"

"It's okay," Angemon interrupted, carrying a non-struggling Joe with ease. "We've always come through before, and this time isn't going to be any different. Have faith." His kind, confident voice seemed to help reassure the ghostly Digimon, for a time at least.

_But he's right, Izzy realized. __Without the others, we don't have a chance…_

-

"Nova Blast!"

Greymon returned to his Rookie stage after the last Devidramon fell from the sky.

"Nice work, Agumon," Tai praised, stealthily creeping up to the castle. In file behind him were Mimi carrying Palmon, Sora carrying both Biyomon and Gomamon, and Kari carrying Gatomon. Gomamon had been uncharacteristically silent ever since his partner had been captured, Tai had noticed.

There appeared to be many entrances positioned around the castle, so with a shrug, Tai chose one wedged in between two dangerously spiky-looking walls. He pushed open the wrought-iron door and could only stare.

"What is it, Tai?" Mimi asked, she and Sora crowding in behind him to peer at whatever it was that had stopped him.

"Izzy! And Matt, and TK! And… Joe?"

They stared back at them, and then suddenly the whole group burst into relieved laughter.

"You should have seen Matt's face when that door started to open," TK jested his brother, who rewarded him with an affectionate poke.

The groups joined and Tai listened closely as everyone caught up on what had happened to one another. What on earth had happened to Joe? After they finished, Tai removed the sack that he had had hanging at his waist and everyone gathered around to receive their respective rings.

Tai held up Joe's with a thoughtful look. Was this person the real Joe, or some sort of evil clone? Gomamon, instead of acting overjoyed at rejoining his best friend, had just stared up at him with unexpressive green eyes.

Suddenly, a bright golden luminosity radiated from the Ring of Reliability, causing Tai to shield his eyes lest get blinded. Something seemed to be tugging the ring away by some invisible force, and he had no choice but to let it go.

When the light faded, he blinked and glanced up. It was hovering in front of an extremely disoriented-looking Joe, who seemed to be held up only by Angemon's grasp.

"What's…going on…?" he muttered, placing a hand to his head.

_Is Joe back to normal? Tai wondered suspiciously, __or is this just an act?_

"I think I'm gonna barf…"

Tai had to grin. Old Joe or not, he sure sounded like himself.

Joe was currently squinting at the ring as if by staring at it hard enough, he would figure out what it was. He snatched it out of the air and placed it on his finger.

"It has the Crest of Reliability on it. You guys found the rings," he said in wonderment.

"JOE!" Gomamon cried suddenly, leaping into his bewildered friend's arms as Angemon gently released him and dedigivolved. "I'm so glad you're okay!" He nuzzled his head against Joe's cheek, giggling. "I felt it when something bad happened to you—you weren't yourself anymore. I was so worried, Joe, so worried…!"

Joe laughed and gave him a pat. "Well, I'm back to normal now."

"Speaking of which, Joe," Matt said, folding his arms, "What _did happen to you, anyhow?"_

He tilted his head slightly. "It's all sort of blurry… I was captured by a Devidramon, and brought to Venommyotismon's castle. A strange little Digimon with creepy eyes hypnotized me, I think. I was trying not to let it happen, but it was too hard to resist. Everything was spinning, and…I don't remember I thing after that. All I know is that one minute I was there and the next I was here."

"Notikmon," Bakemon acknowledged with a nod.

They all stared at one another for a moment, silly grins pasted upon their faces. "We're all together again," Mimi murmured, clasping her hands in front of her. "Nothing can stop us now, right guys?"

"Right!"

-

Venommyotismon's chamber was intimidating, to say the least. It seemed more like a huge cave than anything else, rocky and uneven, with no apparent source of light, though it was still possible to see. Taking up most of the space was a humongous coffin, red and black with gilded golden trim. The darkness gave a sense of evil pervading and chilled Tai to his marrow. It was colder than death and the group stayed huddled close together as if to ward off uneasiness, even Bakemon.

"How does Venommyotismon get through the door?" Tai gave a start before he realized it was Kari speaking in hushed tones.

"The ceiling opens up," the Bakemon replied absently, rubbing his arms. "I never did like this place…" he muttered.

Tai glanced around, trying to peer into the far reaches of the darkness without much success. "Why doesn't he keep it locked?"

Bakemon shuddered. "He actually encourages creatures to come in for whenever he happens to get hungry. We've all learned from previous examples to squelch all hope—anyone who's come in here in hopes of defeating him never came out again."

"Thanks for reassuring us," Joe said dryly.

"Sorry. I'm just warning you, though. The last hope I have is in you kids—he's always talking about you, you know. Or at least he used to. He seemed to think your threat had been extinguished, for whatever reason. At least that'll give us an advantage."

Tai ended his examination of the room and turned to Bakemon. "It's a good thing we've got you on our side, buddy. So tell me, what do we do now? Just wait to ambush him?"

The ghostly white figure considered. "Well, I dunno, you're the leader, aren't you? The way your Agumon pal's been talking it seems that way. But I think we should wait in the coffin."

"What?!" Mimi and Joe shrieked collectively.

He chuckled uneasily. "Hear me out, would you? Venommyotismon will be returning, exhausted, ready to go to sleep. When the ceiling opens up, he'll spot us plainly. In the coffin, we'll have the advantage of surprise."

Palmon edged closer to Mimi, hugging her partner's leg. "I can't say I'm crazy about the idea, but… I think he's right."

"All right!" Tai said brightly, which was quite an effort to make considering the circumstances. "Let's do it!"

The next order of business was getting the lid off, but with a digivolved Greymon, that was no problem. The inside was cushioned with luxurious red velvet that Mimi exclaimed over. They positioned themselves inside, sinking deep into the fabric, and then replaced the lid.

Tai stared up into the darkness, taking comfort that Agumon and all of his friends were there with him. Together, they could handle anything.

Matt, with his love for his friends... He would always be there for them, always fiercely loyal no matter what. Even going through the inner turmoil that seemed to plague him every so often, Matt loved them and would do anything for them. He would stand tall and be proud to call them his friends.

TK, the little light of hope… Whenever things got rough, whenever Tai thought they weren't going to make it, this brave little boy encouraged them to keep going. He was so young, and yet he was the one that brightened their spirits and took the weight of their mission off. All you had to do was look into those innocent blue eyes and you knew what you had to do.

Joe, always the one to count on… He was always terrified, always complaining, he didn't seem suited for the mission… and yet, when it came down to it, he would always do what he had to do for the others. He always found the bravery deep inside he needed for his friends. Good old, reliable Joe.

Mimi, who put her heart and soul into everything she did…. She whined and seemed ditzy and shallow, but she wasn't at all. She could find good in just about everything but walking long distances. She was like TK, something you look at and know you have to protect with all you have.

Sora, with her gentle love for everything… You could always count on her for a sweet smile, for a tender reassurance, for a friend to love you despite all of your faults. She was calm and sensible, yet loving to all those who needed it.

Izzy, always willing to help with his particular skills… He was short and young and sometimes spoke in an entirely different, language it seemed, yet he cared. He didn't know how to show it and buried himself into his computer, but his true self came free when you needed it most.

Kari, the counterpart of the little light of hope…She was mysterious and wise, but small, fragile and scared, someone who needed his protection. Her light shone brilliantly and gave Tai just the courage he needed.

Tai smiled at the lid of the coffin. His friends. Friends who would remain that forever, and who loved him just as dearly as he loved them. It was a comfort to know.

After awhile, Tai ran out of things to think about and began to grow uncomfortable.

"This is going to be a long day," Gomamon remarked.


	6. Default Chapter Title

Chaos Theory

By Aa-chan

** **

# Chapter Six

TK groggily opened his eyes as a deep rumbling made the building shake slightly. An earthquake? And where was he, again?

He saw the dark shapes of the other Digidestined, some awakening, some sitting patiently, and the day's events came flooding back to him. Was it time to face Venommyotismon? Already?

The easily visible white shape of Bakemon in the darkness rose up and hovered in the air anxiously. "That must be the ceiling opening," he whispered. "Get ready, everybody." The group tensed. TK swallowed, grateful for the presence of Patamon nearby. He touched the little Digimon's back for reassurance.

"It's too bad there's not enough room to digivolve," Agumon muttered quietly. 

"But the noise and light would give us away, anyway," Gabumon pointed out.

They fell into an uneasy silence as a huge crash sounded and the rumbling stopped. Only their harsh breathing marred the silence.

What could only be described as monstrous-sounding footsteps came closer to the coffin, and TK had to struggle not to start crying. He would not give in to tears, though—Matt faced everything with bravery, and so would he.

A sliver of dim, barely noticeable light spilled into the coffin as the lid was pulled aside roughly to reveal a single, narrowed, yellow eye that widened with surprise as it saw the children and their Digimon. As Venommyotismon thrust the lid aside, Tai screamed out, "Now!"

The Digimon began to glow blindingly bright, causing the huge, evil Digimon to stagger backwards and snarl. Soon the combination of Ultimates and Megas stood upon the red velvet of the coffin and helped their human partners onto the uneven rocky floor.

Venommyotismon recovered quickly and let out an earth-shaking roar. The kids huddled together and took on a fighting stance, teeth gritted and fists clenched. TK imitated Matt, hoping he looked half as strong as his brother.

The Digimon flew at the undead king with wild war cries, attacking simultaneously only to be swiped effortlessly aside. TK flinched as MangaAngemon slammed against the wall and groaned, sliding to the floor.

They struggled up and towards the enemy again, only to be batted aside once more. All this had taken place in the space of a few moments. TK was beginning to feel doubtful, to put it mildly.

The Digimon still struggled to stand, though, struggled to fight on for the hope of two worlds. TK felt every bruise, every gash, and every ache that his partner was experiencing.

Through horror-filled eyes he watched, unable to do anything, unable to help in any way. It wasn't right. Why should their Digimon be the ones to fight? Why could he never do anything? Why did he feel more helpless than he ever had before?

With an almost animal roar, he launched himself forward towards Venommyotismon's hulking shape, not hearing the cries of the others, focused only on that one being that had caused so much pain and misery for so many people. The one who had plunged two worlds into hopelessness.

His ring had begun to glow with an unearthly light, causing Venommyotismon to shield his eyes and screech. And TK kept forward.

"Don't, TK!"

"TK, what are you doing?!"

"Are you crazy?"

"Stop!"

The shouts of terror finally penetrated, and he turned to the other humans calmly. "This won't go on any longer." He whipped his head around fiercely, suddenly full of fiery fury. "Do you hear me?!" he screamed to the staggering Digimon. "I won't let it go on any longer!"

Venommyotismon blinked and reached a long-fingered hand towards the boy. "Hungry…" Magna Angemon hurriedly knocked it away from TK.

"Listen to me!" The ring glowed even brighter. "Why do you enjoy this pain and suffering? You've ruined two worlds, and billions of lives! I won't stand for it! Together, all of us will defeat you, and give these people their hope back!"

He suddenly became aware of a presence at his side. Kari. "He's right! We'll shine light back into their hearts!" she cried furiously.

The others stepped forward collectively to stand beside them. "We will defeat you," Tai said. Not a threat, not a boast, just plain fact. And it was true, TK realized. Together, they had the strength to do anything.

Everyone's rings were glowing brighter and brighter now, the light growing until the entire cave was filled with it.

TK closed his eyes, no longer afraid, just expectant. They would do their duty.

When the light dimmed, Venommyotismon had de-digivolved to Myotismon, and the Digimon not already at Mega were now in their new forms.

Myotismon, who had been protecting his eyes with his cape, looked up with a stunned expression. "How can this be?" he asked softly. "I am the most powerful being in the universe."

"Not anymore, buddy!" Tai cried with a grin. The others cheered.

Myotismon looked suddenly calm. He walked out into the center of the chamber, eyes closed. "It had been prophesized that a group of children from worlds away would defeat me. I thought I had eliminated that threat, but I see I was wrong." TK exchanged uneasy glances with his brother. What was he doing? "I see this has been in vain, after all." He opened his eyes suddenly. They had taken on an almost defensive look. "But I will go out fighting! Crimson Lightning!"

WarGreymon easily dodged the attack and all the Megas gathered together, staring at their enemy expressionlessly. And simultaneously, they attacked.

TK's world rocked on its axis; light blinded him and darkness shriveled into nothingness. A feeling of peace and serenity entered his mind, and he knew that it was over. Finally, finally, it was over.

-

Joe opened his eyes slightly, struggling to a sitting position. He felt around for his glasses, and touched lush grass instead. Forcing himself all the way awake, he saw the blurry shape of his glasses and placed them on his nose.

The other Digidestined were sprawled around him, waking much in the same way as he had. They were in a shady, green park, and there was no sign of the Digimon. People milled about them, some giving them odd looks, some amused, as if they had fallen asleep here. They were home.

Tai glanced around. "We're back. I guess we defeated Myotismon." But he frowned.

"What is it, Tai?" Sora asked.

"It's… never mind." Tai wistfully looked at the sky, managing to look sad and happy at the same time.

He may not have felt like admitting it, but Joe knew all too well. The Digimon. Would he ever see Gomamon again? Those green eyes, and always a smile ready to cheer up his pal Joe… After all they'd been through, Joe couldn't imagine going on without his best friend. It was hard to acknowledge the fact that he may well never see him again, hard to process it.

With a sigh, Mimi stood, dusting off her skirt. "Let's go home." Her voice was neutral.

Joe gave her a questioning look. "Just… just like that? Let's go home?"

She smiled suddenly at him, tilting her head. "Don't you get it, Joe? Our Digimon will always be there for us, and so will we for them. Even though we're separated, we're still together—joined, at the heart."

The boy smiled, too. Corny, yet touching… "You're right. Let's go home."

As he walked down the street alongside his friends, his thoughts were with Gomamon, and Gomamon's with his. Right now, they were saying, "I will always be with you. Goodbye."

# The End


End file.
